News to Start Your Weekend 12.8.06
Posted by Nick Marsico on 12.08.2006
The Defense of December to Dismember, and not a whole lot more. Read on!
Where the fuck am I? How the shit is it Friday already? Not that I have a problem with that. Now I only have one more day of classes left for this semester before finals, and that's Monday.
Before we start things off proper, I got a response from Will Mayberry, who would like to continue the discussion from last week about Russo (the bold is him and the regular type is my responses):
I think "I'm on Russo's Nuts" would have been a better title for your piece rather than "In Defense of Vince Russo". How bad must Impact be if you find the current booking to be a huge improvement. I agree that they need to build up characters in TNA, but you have to have a balance between that and the athletic presentation and right now there is none. All we have is a million angles in an hour, and the majority of them are bad.
And before Russo it was the same thing, except not only were all of the angles bad, but they were also bland. For all of his faults, at least the man's trying to put something interesting on.
You responded to my criticism of Russo's handling of Samoa Joe, saying that it is no big deal that he lost to a wrestler who has beaten all sorts of people in the industry. Kurt Angle is a great wrestler, but Joe losing hurt his momentum and if he loses again will really put him in the shithouse. Wins and losses matter in the way wrestlers are preceived, and that is Wrestling Booking 101. I guess you are more a subscriber to Russo Booking For Dummies. It can be salvaged, but if Joe loses again it severely hurts everything TNA has tried to build with Joe.
I don't think he lost any momentum at all, actually. He lost a really good match to a really good wrestler in a really hot feud and now he's got a rematch. Wins and losses don't matter. Case in point, The Rock. The man has shown ass a million times, but never lost momentum or any overness or credibility with the fans. Why? Because he knows how to make the other guy look good while at the same time looking good himself. That's what happened with Joe at Genesis. So he tapped, oh well. They both beat the fuck out of each other during the match and they both came out of it looking good regardless of a winner and a loser. In the end, the fans don't care so much about who wins and loses as long as everything comes off looking great. Steve Austin lost to Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13 and his career skyrocketed. John Cena lost a bunch of big matches en route to his US Title push (to ‘Taker at Vengeance '03, Angle at No Mercy '03, a #1 Contendership triple threat match with Big Show and Angle where he tapped to Kurt at NWO '04) , and all of those good, close, hard fought matches only served to make him look good and help him get over. Granted, Joe doesn't need any help getting over, but you're way off the mark in thinking that losing a match really hurts the way the fans perceive a guy. If he gets jobbed out, sure, but not if he looks like an equal.
You grant me that the booking of Abyss did not help him much. Not only do they make him look weak but they involve the world title! Oh I guess they have to have an important spot where we fit out Paul Bearer is Abyss's father. Russo treats the belt like it is a prop when that is the last thing TNA needs at this point after Jarrett's nice long run with the title. Probably doesn't matter anyway, as Christian will win the belt at the PPV and then Angle will win it the next month so we can have 4 champions in a span of 4 months to make the belt look really strong. Maybe Russo has gained patience and will have 4 champs in the span of 6 months.
The WWF title switched hands 11 times in 1999 between 7 different guys. Hell, it changed 23 times from the first time Austin won it in 1998 to when he won it from Rock in 2001. That's 23 times in 36 months, between 9 different guys. Last I checked, that was the arguably the hottest time period in wrestling history. You have to remember that this isn't a sport, it's professional wrestling. Unless TNA starts to seriously value wrestling over trying to do storylines and angles, the belt IS a prop. No matter if the belt changes hands a lot – if a bunch of different guys want it and they all have a feasible chance of getting it, the title still means something even if somebody doesn't hold it for a year straight.
On the Nash/Starr/Shelly segments, I can honestly say I did not enjoy them. They were not funny. The man ass did not offend me because it was a man's ass, it offended because it was lame humor. I am sorry you believe man ass belongs on your wrestling shows, but I don;t like it when WWE has man ass and I didn't like TNA's small display. You say that it wasn't a waste of time like DX's displays, but what good have the vignettes with those three accomplished. Have they made you want to watch Starr/Shelley matches? I love how TNA thinks a big 7 foot stiff who loves to bury talent is supposed to save the X-division and give it character. All he has brought is lame comedy.
You're just about the only person who doesn't enjoy the Paparazzi Productions segments, man, so I don't know what to tell you.
Speaking of the X-division, a 2 minute match is not going to help them. The X division is one of the few unique aspects TNA has going for it and instead of highlighting the positives TNA does not give them time to highlight their abilities. Instead we get 2 minute matches and the stupid Nash BS. You have Russo taking the X-divison's biggest star in AJ Styles and giving him a non-sensical heel turn. Ah, the non sensical heel turn, a Russo staple.
I can't defend the AJ turn, however the X Division was getting shitty 2 minute matches before Russo as well. As I continually say, TNA does not focus on wrestling, no matter what TNA and so many of their blind fans might tell you. They didn't before Russo, and they certainly won't now that Russo has the book. So don't blame 2 minute X Division matches on Russo, because he didn't start that trend.
You defend his clusterfuck booking with the defense he only has an hour. Well when you only have an hour you have to change your booking. You have to highlight certain angles and get rid of some of the filler (VKM angles, Nash vignettes, having run-ins every match, etc...). You say that Russo had some good ideas in WCW but his first idea there was to turn the young talent heel and have the aging superstars as the babyfaces which is a terrible move on so many business levels that it is amazing he got another shot. Well he did and the reason people are complaining is not because of his past it is because of the present. TNA needs a more serious and athletic presentation because that is what is going to seperate them as an alternative to WWE television. Right now all they are is WWE light with all the non sensical booking and crappy comedy. Serious and athletic does not mean nothing but wrestling as you need some character development as well, but Russo never did know how to book a show that focused on the atletic aspect of wrestling. They could have picked some young writer and gave him a shot instead TNA does the wrestling industry solution to problems and recycle old garbage.
I don't really get your argument here, at least not as it would pertain to being against Russo. Before Russo came in, the show was still a complete clusterfuck. There were constant run-ins and very few clean finishes and they tried to fit multiple angles into a single segment (often doing shit during a match with somebody who had absolutely nothing to do with the guys in the ring). Like I said earlier, that's not a trend that all of a sudden began when Russo came back to TNA. It's something that was already going on. TNA has 4 hours (sometimes 3) to build to a 3 hour PPV. So their method has been, especially since they started on Spike, to get as much shit on TV as they possibly could. Sometimes it came out well and many times it didn't.
My point still stands that with Russo, while that aspect hasn't changed, now at least it isn't cookie-cutter boring shit that they're cramming into segments. Some of it is interesting, and he's giving many characters some different dimensions. They aren't all just guys doing things – now they're guys with motivation to do things. Some of it is nonsensical, sure, but at least it's ambitious. The bottom line is that you're lashing out on Russo, but a good chunk of the stuff you're complaining about is stuff that was going on before he got the book. It's like you're complaining about the idea of Russo rather than the man himself.
Anyway, things happened in the world of wrestling, or so I've heard. Let's go over those things, shall we?
Hey, did you know Rebecca DiPietro and Maryse Oullet (the girl who needs to have a talk show with guest star Khali every single week) both posed for Playboy in the past? WWE's making sure we're aware. Hey, remember back when the Diva Search first began and one of the stipulations was that the girls couldn't have done any nude pictures in order to be eligible? You remember, the one where they used pictures of porn stars on the website to promote (including the very notable Aria Giovanni)? What ever happened to that?
So, has anybody heard yet that Paul Heyman's gone? It's all been covered by this point, and much like most of the "really big" stories, I really don't care all that much about it. I've read that he's still got possibly 9 months left on his contract, and unless they let him out of that, he won't be going anywhere any time soon, and that's also plenty of time for Vince to decide to bring him back. Either way, my take on it is that if Heyman is going to be completely free, TNA should immediately do everything in their power to get him and they should give him the book, and maybe even team him up with Russo and let them just run the show. The quality would rise pretty quickly. I'm mostly indifferent as far as him being an on screen character, but I'd prefer that they just keep him behind the scenes. Somebody on a message board mentioned that if it would be acceptable, entertaining and not cringeworthy for anybody to shoot on WWE and Vince on television it would be Heyman, and I agree. Just once, though, and that's it. Let him run his mouth in the middle of an iMPACT broadcast, then put the book in his hand and move on.
Wrestling Society X will hit the airwaves! January 30, people! On the 10-spot! Or whatever fuckin' MTV is calling the ten o'clock hour these days. 10:30 PM Tuesday nights starting on the second to last day of January 2007 marks the historic beginning of the next big wrestling juggernaut. It's on the horizon, people. Be ready.
What other news is there? Big Show's done with WWE after the tour of Europe or wherever they are right now until the possible match with Hogan at WrestleMania, and then that'll probably be it. It's a shame they used the guy to his potential so few times (see: whenever he was around Heyman – and when he was clean-shaven and riding atop his daddy's casket), and I'm kind of disappointed to see him go. For all the pain he's said to be in, the guy has been putting in 150% since he got the ECW belt in July and he's arguably as good, if not better, than he has been in his entire career.
Ring of Honor has a big double shot coming up, and these are the final two shows before their final two shows of 2006 at the end of the month.
The Chicago Spectacular, Night One Friday, December 8, 2006
World Title Steel Cage Match
Bryan Danielson defends vs. Samoa Joe
Grudge Match
Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey
Dragon Gate Rules
Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Shingo & ROH World Tag Team Champion Matt Sydal
Special Challenge Match
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
Four Corner Survival
ROH World Tag Team Champion Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Davey Richards vs. Matt Cross
Special Challenge Tag Team Match
Delirious & Ace Steel vs. Adam Pearce & Shane Hagadorn
Special Attraction Match
Homicide vs. Brent Albright
Bonus Tag Team Match
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Irish Airborne of Dave & Jake Crist
Plus more with Kikutaro, Daizee Haze, Tank Toland, Pelle Primeau and others!!!
The Chicago Spectacular, Night Two Saturday, December 9, 2006
ROH World Tag Team Title Match (This Match Is Guaranteed To Happen)
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal, with Allison Danger, defend vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong
Six Man Tag Team Main Event
ROH World Champion (if retains on 12/8) Bryan Danielson, Jimmy Rave & Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey vs. Delirious & 2 partners of his choice (it can be anyone on the card)
Strap Match
Homicide vs. Adam Pearce
Grudge Match #1
Samoa Joe vs. Mark Briscoe
Grudge Match #2
Davey Richards vs. Jay Briscoe
Special Challenge Match #1
Colt Cabana vs. Shingo
Special Challenge Match #2
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer
Bonus Attraction Match
Ace Steel vs. Tank Tolland
Six Man Mayhem
Kikutaro vs. Dave Crist vs. Jake Crist vs. Matt Cross vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Trik Davis
Plus Daizee Haze, Shane Hagadorn and others!!!
The Defense of December to Dismember
Now look, I'm not going to go insane here and call it the best show of the year or anything (not that there's really been much competition, though), but it really wasn't as bad as people said. When I first read the results of the show and peoples' accounts of it I was expecting an awful, terrible show, and that certainly wasn't the case. Yeah, it was shortsighted and silly to only announce two matches, but the way people were going so crazy over how bad it was is as if they were somehow expecting it to be a good show or something. Of course the way I see it, people only went so crazy over how bad it was because they intended to do so from the very beginning. As soon as people knew they were going into the show with only two matches booked (and it was basically just built as a one-match show anyway), they all geared up to all gang up and call it one of the worst shows ever, most people without even bothering to track down a copy and watch it.
Was it worth 40 bucks? Of course not. But then, there hasn't been a WWE PPV worth 40 bucks since they rose the price to 40. Would this show have been worth a 20 dollar charge? Probably not, but people would surely have felt a lot less ripped off at that price. The Hardyz vs. MNM was quite an enjoyable match, but that's obvious. Balls and Striker, while it wasn't a PPV-quality match, was definitely good and would have made for a really good TV match.
Burke and Terkay vs. The FBI was not a bad match by any stretch. I noted to Larry about his comment in the D2D 3 Rs about how there are no tag titles yet there are tag teams – nobody's going to care about your tag teams if you don't first build up a division. If you want some heatless matches for a title with a bunch of non-built, un-hyped, thrown together teams, go ahead and do it, but that's just silly. Come on, Larry. Doesn't it make sense to have teams that people give a fuck about before you start having them chase after titles? You can't have a tag division without tag teams, so why should you have tag belts before establishing teams? That said, I don't think that's the direction they're going, but the point still stands.
Dreamer vs. Daivari, well, meh. There's no reason to defend everything on the show. At least it advances an angle, just like the mixed tag did. My defense of the mixed tag, by the way? Ariel's ass. HOLY SHIT, I mean just really. I thought that boot choke was awesome when Stacy Keibler did it. I thought that boot choke was awesome when Kevin Nash did it. That boot choke is AWESOME when Ariel in her little short barely skirt and thonged-up boyshorts is doing it. I love that girl.
And finally, the elimination chamber. It was better than the most recent one at New Year's Revolution back in January and I'd say it was also better than the one at SummerSlam back in '03 that Goldberg rightfully should have won. Not that I advocated a Goldberg title win, but at the time it would have made a shitload of sense, for business, the story, and more importantly, the Goldberg character. The character was a world-beater inherently. He doesn't go through everybody like a hot knife through wet balsa wood just to get beat by the injured champion who sat in a chamber for the entire match in an incredibly anticlimactic moment. It just doesn't make sense. Plus, the match was less than 20 minutes long.
But back to what I was saying… the elimination chamber. I'd rank this one right in the middle of the 5. I'd have to watch the first and third again to see which I liked better, but they were both great matches. The extreme chamber comes in third, followed by the second and the fourth. I'll say this for Sunday's main event, the booking and the pacing was different from any of the previous four chambers, and I actually liked it. Granted it likely would have been a better match quality wise if Van Dam and Punk weren't eliminated when they were, but outside of that, there was just something about the match that I oddly enjoyed. It was solid. It's also not odd that RVD was knocked out so early, because as of the last few weeks, the title chase basically completely stopped being about him whatsoever, so under the circumstances it makes sense. Maybe that wasn't the best case scenario, but that's how it was going to be. Lashley has become the main focus at this point.
The match was solid up until it was down to just three, and that's when the story of the match really got turned up to 11 and became really enjoyable for me. I would question Test taking Holly out like he did, but at the same time Bobcore hasn't exactly been a trustworthy person since his introduction into ECW. He's been on the show since just about the end of August, and in the course of a little more than 3 months he went from heel to face and back to the heel side again. So not only is he untrustworthy, but Test being Test, he's a huge confident dude who figured that with the outside help that was surely planned beforehand with keeping Lashley inside of his pod, he wouldn't need the help of Holly, a guy who may or may not have been in it for himself rather than for the team. As I said though, once it was down to Test, Lashley and Show the quality of the story of the match just skyrocketed. Lashley had become, in very short order, the chosen martyr of ECW, and this match was all about him, and after the final ECW on Sci-Fi before the PPV that fact just became even clearer.
Test gets rid of Holly, and there's enough time for him to rest and for the plan to keep Lashley in his pod to develop perfectly. When time runs out, the plan goes into motion and it seems to be working beautifully, and it's just making Lashley look even more like the hero who must overcome great odds. He figures out a way to escape the situation and is out of his pod with plenty of time to begin the overcoming process without having to deal with a 2-on-1 situation, and after a pretty entertaining and well put together 3 minute battle with Test (including a SWANK, albeit wobbly, huge air clothesline from the top rope by the new champ), it came down to the big one – the newcomer, the one man on the one mission against the destroyer, the dominating hand picked ECW champion.
And the minute plus wait before Show entered the ring was GLORIOUS. The crowd had gotten behind Lashley and the interaction between the caged champion and the almost redeemed martyr was played very, very well. It had some raw emotion, and Show's last minute conference with Heyman really put over the fact that Lashley really was someone that had to be dealt with, and it would not be easy. Then the time expired. It was time for the showdown. Was it a great match? No. Did it come off as a big deal? It did to me. Lashley didn't have to go through all 5 men, but he did have to take on the two biggest threats as far as he was concerned, the two guys who were all over him from the very start, and he was able to overcome the odds and take out both men to prove his dominance and to confirm that his decision to take the open contract was the smartest move to take.
I thought the story was great. I'll be honest, I was pretty annoyed at the booking of the match up until the point where it was down to just the final three, but that part completely saved the match for me and put it over the top into a higher status than 2 of the other 4 previous EC matches.
In the end, December to Dismember wasn't a great show and it certainly wasn't worth 40 bucks (not that that's a problem for me), but it wasn't as bad as people were hyping it up (down?) to be, and I really do think that a lot of people were putting it down because they already had the preconceived notion that it was a shitty show before even watching it. Hell, I'll even go so far to say that it wasn't a good PPV, but it was a good show. If this was on television, it would have been better than most RAWs over the past few months.
Oh, and by the way, this isn't ECW. Larry, this is partially a reaction to you, as you wrote:
"While they can try to fool you and I with the "ECW" logo and the name ECW, along with many former ECW talents, Paul Heyman cutting a promo acting like he runs the place and Joey Styles calling the action; this was a WWE Developmental PPV."
Nobody's trying to fool you, Larry. Especially not a smart guy like you. You and anybody who has been watching WWE for any substantial length of time should know that they're all about bullshit. They love to push things for name value and name value alone. That's what ECW is right now, and this is what Vince has intended for it to be. It's just another WWE show, just with the ECW name and with the word ‘hardcore' and ‘extreme' getting thrown around a lot. For any intelligent fan to expect anything more is incredibly short sighted. We're not going to get ECW back, and they're not actively trying to do so. It's not about being ECW. It's not about being hardcore. It's not about being extreme. It's not about being different. It's about saying they're those things. As soon as one can get past that, it becomes a lot easier to just watch the show for what it is. It's just another WWE show with a few differences that set it apart from RAW the same way SmackDown has its differences that separate it from SmackDown. It's nothing drastic, but it's just enough to make them a bit different and distinct in comparison. Calling bullshit is old news in the current landscape, too. We've been fucked over a thousand times before – what makes this one PPV any worse than anything else? This show isn't the one that should be getting you angry and it shouldn't be the final straw. I'd say it's just another stop on the long line of disappointments, but for anybody to have built this show up in their mind enough for it to be a disappointment seems almost impossible to me. It's just to be expected.
Anyway, that's that. Before I go, here are some Turning Point quick predictions. I haven't seen iMPACT yet, but whatever:
